Tap, tap, tap! Class! Today we are having a culinary geography lesson and the subject is: Sri Lanka. An island of just over 20 million people, Sri Lanka sits off the southern coast of India and is known as “The Pearl of the Indian Ocean”. We had a word with our friends down at Seasoned Pioneers when we decided to create this recipe and they sent us this incredible fruity blend to transport you to sunnier climes. Enjoy!
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
1
Brown Basmati Rice
1
Onion
1
Garlic Clove
1
Ginger
1
Green Beans
½
Sweet Potato
3
Coriander
1
Sri Lankan Curry Powder
¼
Chilli Flakes
200
Coconut Milk
2
Cashew Nuts
(Contains Nuts May contain Sesame, Nuts, Peanut)
1
Desiccated Coconut
½
Lime
Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil with 1/4 tsp of salt. Wash the rice under running water for 30 seconds (important step!). Add the rice to the boiling water and boil for 25 mins until soft enough to eat. When the rice is cooked, drain it, put it back in the pot off the heat and cover with a tea towel.
Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the onion and peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel the ginger using the edge of a spoon and finely chop. Cut the very top and bottom off the green beans (i.e. ‘top and tail’ them) then chop them into three. Wash the sweet potato and chop into 1cm cubes, then roughly chop the coriander. Tip: No need to peel the sweet potato as the skin is very nutritious!
Heat a frying pan with 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 mins until soft, add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add the curry powder, the sweet potato, as much of the chilli flakes as you dare, along with ¼ tsp of salt and mix well.
Add the coconut milk. Refill the tin halfway with water, swill it around and add this too. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 10-15 mins, until the potatoes are just cooked. Add the green beans and continue to cook for a further 5 mins.
Toast the cashew nuts in a dry frying pan for a few mins. Watch them carefully as they can burn quickly. In a separate frying pan do the same with the desiccated coconut. Tip: Be really careful as the coconut can burn really quickly.
Once the sauce has bubbled down to a nice thick consistency, squeeze the juice from half the lime into the curry. Stir through three quarters of the coriander and all the cashew nuts. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the rice topped with the curry and the toasted coconut and the remaining chopped coriander.